S2E18: “Rock ‘n Roll Express”
Synopsis: “Jem and The Holograms tour by way of a train so they can perform to small town fans and raise money for the Starlight Foundation. The Misfits are unhappy with all the coverage they are getting and decide to steal the spotlight by having a concert of their own.”
Summary: Episode 44 (S2E18) is written by Barbara Petty.
We open at a press conference where Jem and the Holograms announce a new tour by train, to reach fans in smaller towns. All proceeds from the concert tour will go to the Starlight Foundation for Foster Girls. The Starlight orphans are also coming along for the ride to give them the opportunity to see their own country.
The train leaves the station with fans of the Holograms waving goodbye.
Jem and the Holograms music video: “I’m Taking A Train.”
The Misfits are gathered around the TV, watching the Lin-Z’s show as she announces Jem’s new concert tour. Pizzazz decides that the Holograms should share some of the glory. The next stop on the Holograms tour is announced: Rock Canyon, Arizona.
In Rock Canyon, Arizona, we see the local Sheriff in an argument with a man, who tells him not to come back.
At the Rock Canyon train station, a group of Jem and the Holograms fans wait in anticipation of their arrival. The man we saw earlier with the Sheriff seems unfamiliar with Jem and the Holograms and he asks a group of fans if they’re collecting money. He appears to be enthused by this news.
The train rolls in and we see Jem speaking with Rio, who is dressed like a damn fool. Jem and the Holograms address the waiting fans.
The moustached, denim-clad man, offers the guard watching the train a spiked cup of hot coffee, which the guard seemingly manages to slurp back without burning his mouth. Within seconds, he passes out. Rio drops by to see Bill, the guard, who wakes up after being unconscious for an indeterminate amount of time. Later on, Rio makes a phone call to request a new guard, after explaining that a doctor diagnosed the previous one with a case of food poisoning. The denim-clad man, eaves drops on Rio’s conversation.
Jem and the Holograms say goodbye to Rock Canyon as the train leaves the station. Ashley complains to Raya that she hasn’t seen much on the trip as she’s had to spend most of her time with the band’s equipment. Raya explains that it’s a very important job. Meanwhile, as their conversation ends, a plane nearly collides with the train as flyers fall from the sky, advertising the Misfits and their concert. The pilot loses control of the plane as the engine stalls, forcing it to crash land, nearly killing the Misfits.
Rio pulls the train’s emergency break so they can stop and check if the Misfits are okay. Fortunately for them, the Misfits are unharmed, but they ask Jerrica if they can hitch a ride on the train, since they would be stranded otherwise. Jerrica accepts the request, begrudgingly.
In the dining car, the Misfits are seen complaining about the food and then they begin throwing food at each other. The waiter pleads for them to stop, but they don’t until Rio interjects. The Misfits head to the observation car and Rio locks them in.
Rio: Why don’t you observe America for a while.
Jetta discovers a hatch in the ceiling of the observation car. Pizzazz opens it and the Misfits try to escape through it. The train approaches a tunnel and the Misfits jump off and land in a body of water–unscathed (how lucky for them). Roxy blames Jetta for both having the idea to escape and climbing onto the roof of the train. Pizazz tells Jetta and Roxy to shutup as she overhears two people yelling. A man and woman on horse back are seen and Pizzazz decides to ask them for help to get the Misfits back onto the train. The man hasn’t heard of the Misfits.
Misfits music video: “It Takes Alot To Survive.”
The Misfits manage to catch up to the train on horseback, only to turndown the promised offer to give autographs to the horseback riders. Raya asks where they have been and Pizzazz says:
Pizzazz: It’s a long and dusty story.
Jem and the Holograms arrive at their next stop: Mesaville. When Rio disembarks, he meets the new guard who’s job it is to take care of the concert money, only it turns out to be the nefarious denim-clad man who drugged the previous guard.
Rio leaves to setup for the next show, but Ashley, who was supposed to guard the Holograms gear, decides to split. The Misfits take the opportune moment to sabotage the gear. Stormer is reluctant and tells Pizzazz, Roxy, and Jetta that the Holograms have been awful nice to them, but Pizzazz questions if Stormer is going soft. Stormer gives in to conform and denies she is. The Misfits leave before Rio shows up to bring the instruments on stage.
Jem and the Holograms attempt to play, but when they find their instruments have been ruined, Jem apologies and delays the concert. Completely embarrassed at the situation, they leave. Rio places blame on Ashley for sabotaging the instruments, but Jem defends her and thinks there’s no reason for her to have done that. Rio leaves to find a music store.
After replacing the broken parts and telling Ashley she’s lucky he was able to, Jerrica tells Rio that she had nothin to do with the sabotage and that she now realizes how important her job is. The Misfits overhear Jerrica saying they can go on with the concert, so the Misfits try to think of something to do. They notice the train’s engineer, who leaves, so they decide to sabotage things by separating the train from the stage. The train begins to roll and leave the station and the engineers runs after it. The Misfits intended to sabotage the train so the Holograms couldn’t move to the next town, however, the unintended side effect of meddling is the train begins to speed out of control, and Jetta’s leg is stuck in the levers.
Rio decides he has to do something, so he gets onto a motorcycle and makes his way toward the train. The moustached thief who has stolen the concert money asks the Misfits if they need assistance, so he helps Jetta dislodge her foot, which should slow the train down. The train is still out of control. The man pulls on the emergency brake, but the lever snaps before it fully engages.
Rio catches up and manages to get onto the train. He instructs Shana to pull the emergency brake, but when she does, nothing happens. It turns out the brake cable must have been cut.
Cut to the previous train station where we see the Sheriff who hears someone pounding on a closet door. The Sheriff finds the real guard who’s been tied up and he explains that his uniform was stolen and that there’s a thief on the train. The engineer steps in and also explains the train is out of control.
On the train, Rio is unable to open the baggage compartment, which they need to be able to get through to get to the engine. The door is locked and there’s only one way out, over the top. Jem tells Rio it’s too dangerous, that it’s almost impossible to hang on. Rio goes anyway since it’s the only way. He climbs the ladder to the top of the train, nearly falling off as one of the handles snaps off.
In the engine room, Rio finds the Misfits and the thief. He opens the panel and grabs the stub, what’s left of the brake lever, and pulls on it. The train comes to a screeching halt, right in front of the train station at their next destination. The thief grabs the charity money and says to Rio that he’s going to take it back to the safe. Rio suspects something is wrong and questions the thief why he took it out in the first place; his excuse is that he thought it would be safer with him. As the thief exits the train, he’s arrested and Rio reclaims the charity money.
Jem asks the Misfits what they were doing in the engine room, and Stormer admits that they were just trying to mess with the Holograms’ concert. Pizzazz, Roxy, and Jetta are furious and Jem says that the Misfits will have to help out with the concert to make up for it. Pizzaz, Roxy, and Jetta threaten Stormer if she opens her mouth again.
Jem and the Holograms music video: “All Across This Country.”
Duration: 47:27:00
Present: Alex Knight, Aleen Simms, K. Tempest Bradford.
Episode Links- S2E18: “Rock ‘n Roll Express”
- “I’m Taking A Train”
- “It Takes Alot To Survive”
- “All Across This Country”
- Contact your hosts for show feedback
- Show your support and donate to our podcast on Patreon!
- @ZeroDistraction
- @Aleen
- @LessThanOrEqual
- @TinyTempest
- @JEMpodcast for show updates
- @HologramRadio for more podcasts to listen to!
- Get the JEMcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, or via RSS.
Please take a moment to rate our show in iTunes, even if it’s just a star rating. It really does make a difference in helping us reach a wider audience.
Download: JEMcast – Episode S2E18: “Rock ‘n Roll Express”